Tongue Tied?

Well, I only have time for a quick update on the lactation consultant visit.


It turns out that Stella is tongue tied, otherwise known as Akyloglossia, and here's another twist: she gets it from me. 


I went in to the office, and the nurse checked her mouth first thing when I explained the problem. She knew it right away. Derek and I had thought that her tongue looked a little funny, forked almost. We assumed it was a newborn thing, though, and not an actual problem. Well, the nurse asked if anyone in my family had ever had a lisp or had problems sucking. 


As a child, I had problems saying my fs and the th sound. I still have a slight lisp with the s sound. My mom had told me that I couldn't suck as a baby, and I was bottle/formula-fed. I told the nurse about it, and she asked to see my tongue. She goes, "Yep. She gets it from you." 


Sorry, Stella. I guess if we leave it untreated, she'll continue to have problems breastfeeding, my milk supply may go down (which is doing very well right now), and she'll likely have a speech impediment as a child. The nurse called the pediatrician, and we're going to try and go in to have it looked at in the next couple of days. 


To fix the problem, we'll need to have that little piece of tissue snipped. I'm a little frustrated that it's an actual "problem." I had hoped I was simply holding her incorrectly or maybe it was how I was trying to get her to open her mouth. Evidently, she can't open her mouth very well at all. 


I'm to continue using the nipple shield for now, and the nurse gave me another. They also want me to use a larger flange on my pump - I guess I hadn't been "fitted." Anyway, I'm glad we got it figured out, and I'll be glad to get it fixed. 


She was very good in the car, and since it was my first outing alone with her, I was a little nervous. She did well, though! As always, we have to end with a fun picture :)


Here, she's sitting on my legs, propped up. She really likes being able to sit up and look around, as best she can. Derek and I both think she's a very alert baby. Of course, she looks a little sleepy in this picture:

Either way, she's adorable :D I'll update more on the Ankyloglossia issue... 

Look, Ma! No Umbilical Cord!

Our girl is growing up! This morning, I looked down, and her umbilical cord had fallen off! 


It was so funny, and you'd expect to be grossed out by it but we weren't. It was early this morning, and I was just waking up to feed Stella. She had pooped, so Derek changed her, and when I got her into position (more on this update in a second), I looked down and it was gone. 


I said, "Derek! Look- her umbilical cord came off!" It was laying in our bed... We were both so excited since she's been getting really messy lately. She eats so much and milk gets all over her. She also had peed a couple times during changings so there was pee all over the changing table and up her back. So today, Stella got her first "real" bath. She had been getting wiped down and sponge bathed, so this was a fun treat for us. 


We took some pictures - obviously :) --

She was a champ about it. Derek and I bathed her together, and she was so good. She really is a great baby. Afterward, she needed some snuggle time:

And here's a better shot of her face:

She's just so stinking adorable! I love her little fuzzy head, and I swear she gets more hair every day. It's getting darker, or so it seems, and I love it! She's now napping in her crib. I would too after such a big event - a first bath! :)

Now regarding nursing:

On Friday, I had been a pumping machine. Every two hours I was pumping. I felt like a dairy cow. Well, Stella had been getting fussy in the evenings because she wanted to latch. Thursday night was especially bad, and I had tried to get her to latch comfortably. I just couldn't. I started crying, and Derek kept saying we should give her formula. I just kept pumping away... Well, long story short, I decided that on Friday I would give in and call the Lactation Consultants because it was starting to bother me emotionally that I couldn't nurse her and it was bothering her, too. 

The lactation consultant scheduled an appointment for me tomorrow at 2pm, and she recommended that I use a nipple shield. I felt a little weird explaining my boobs to her on the phone, but she was able to recommend the size I needed and all that. Derek and I went to Target Friday evening and bought one. Now, here's a funny (but sad) side story: I was so excited to get to nurse her again and try this nipple shield out that I came home and followed the instructions. "Boil for 20 minutes." Okay - no problem, right? Wrong. My dumb ass let the water run out and it melted in our pot. I started crying, and Derek offered to go out and get one for me. I was so pissed that I threw on my clothes again and went and bought one before Target closed. I came home and used our sterilizer instead because I didn't want to risk it. Anyway, I got the darn thing working.

So, I'm very, very, very happy that it works. It's amazing. It doesn't hurt, and Stella doesn't mind it. It really helps a lot and it's so much more convenient than pumping all the time. I'm excited to go in and see the lactation consultant on Monday so we can figure out Stella's latch. I guess it's really common for small babies to have problems like this since her mouth is only so big. 

Regardless, I'm so, so happy that I can have her nurse again :) I really missed it. 

Miscellaneous: 

We also had another fun thing happen yesterday. I went to check our mail and look what was inside:

Yep! That's Stella's first piece of mail! It was her social security card, and we thought it was so cute that they addressed it to her! :) 

Overall, things are going great. We've taken her to Publix and Target, and our good friends Kerry and Chris came over for dinner last night - we all ordered Chinese food! - and she was really good while they were here. I'm also feeling a bit better. I'm still walking, no running yet, and my belly is way down. I'm down 17 lbs from delivery weight, so only 19 more to go. I'm sure that once I start running, it will all come off. 

Earlier in the day yesterday, we were talking to David and Zsuzsi (Derek's brother and his fiancee) through Skype, and they were asking us about parenthood. Kerry and Chris also asked us what we think of being parents. On both occasions, Derek and I looked at each other and said, "It's honestly a lot of fun!" It really is, though. It's so much fun to see what new, silly face she'll make, and I love watching Derek play with her and change her diaper. It's honestly the best feeling in the world :) We absolutely adore her.

Before I get too emotional, I'm going to stop :) I'll just randomly cry here and there because I'm so happy with her. I love her little fuzzy head and the silly faces she makes and her high-pitched squeaks and squeals. Okay, okay - I said I'd stop! I'll end with these random pictures of her lately:

And yes, she sleeps with us. I know I said I wouldn't do it, but she seems to really like it and we love having her close to us. She's such a little snuggler! 

One week old!

I can't believe Stella is already one week old. I know one week old isn't old at all, but at the same time, I feel like she just arrived. It's crazy how quickly time passes.


I thought I'd share some pictures from her first week:

I was feeding Stella in our bedroom just before bed time, and well, that's what happened... It was so funny that we took a quick picture before changing her. That was one of her first blowouts... 

She loves her swing. We love it, too, because it gives us a chance to eat or clean.

She's figured out where her thumbs are. She likes sucking on her hands, and Derek read in Touchpoints that it's important for them to learn to soothe themselves. I'm more of the type that tries everything in the world to fix her problems, though. 

She LOVES to be swaddled, and those swaddling wraps are like magic.

I just like this one :) 

This was one of the last pictures we took in the hospital on Friday. We all had to wear these bands for security reasons, so we thought we'd put all three together. Every time someone brought Stella to us, we had to show our band and make sure the numbers matched. She even had to wear a little security device on her foot. 

Here's a picture of me with her. I don't have too many with me in the picture because I'm usually taking them. After delivery, my face went crazy from all the hormones, so it's probably best I'm out of most pictures. My mom took this one just after Stella and I were laying down in our bedroom. Yes, Derek is on his laptop in the background... I'm hoping that today I'll be able to get a shower and actually dry my hair. I haven't blow dried my hair in days... a small sacrifice ;) 

Anyway, I need to get back to her. Derek goes back to work two days a week starting tomorrow, so we need to spend plenty of time with Dad today. Yay for one week old! :)

Settling into a routine

So far, things have been going so well! I can't believe Stella is six days old already, and I can't believe she's such a good baby.


Now that things are settling down, we've definitely had some hiccups. 


1) The Bilirubin Blues - Stella had a slightly elevated bilirubin count when we left the hospital, so we had to follow up with an appointment the next day. Each day, her number went up, and we had to go back to the pediatrician over and over. It was so annoying, but we knew it was important to track. Finally, it was back down to 13.8 yesterday, so we were good. We have to make sure we feed her regularly, and we try to let her get some sun. She was never in a "bad" range, and she didn't require a sun lamp. However, we didn't want it to get out of control. You can definitely tell in this picture that she's a little orange-y:

Either way, her numbers have dropped, and she's just following up with Dr. Kreh in 2 weeks. Her weight dropped from 6 lbs 15 oz. at birth down to 6 lbs 10 oz, but yesterday, she was back up to her birth weight. Overall, she's doing very well and eating a lot.

2) Nursing woes - Nursing started off SO well. She latched right away, and I was definitely producing enough milk. On Sunday, I noticed I was a little sore in the morning. We survived the day 3 clusterfeeding madness - weeew! - but my breasts were definitely a little worse for the wear. On Sunday afternoon, I was feeding Stella in the nursery. I pulled her away, and I looked at her mouth. There was blood coming from my breast, and I was absolutely freaking out. I panicked and had no idea what was going on. I tried later in the evening to feed her again, and it hurt so bad that I screamed in pain. 

Immediately, I started crying because she was upset from being hungry. I couldn't bear having her latch because of the pain, and I didn't know what to do. I was literally sobbing and feeling like a terrible mother. Thankfully, I had my breast pump already, so Kathi, my mother in law, helped me get everything together and sterilized, and I started pumping just to make sure she had something to eat. For the past couple days, I've been pumping every 2 hours, and I've been working on getting her to latch again. Yesterday, I had her latch once, and today, she's latched twice. We aren't using the right side just yet since it was the one that received the brunt of the clusterfeeding action - it's been her favorite all along. After she latches, I pump to make sure I'm empty to keep my supply up. I suspect we'll be back to regular ol' nursing in a couple days. I just needed to heal. 

3) Boost for breakfast, an Ensure for dessert - Since delivery, my body has definitely been tired. I don't have much of an appetite, and most foods sound disgusting. This is really weird for me since I'm typically a big eater - even before I was pregnant. I've never had an issue with appetite. Well, I realized the other day that I had barely eaten enough to keep me going - a banana, a small salad, and some gatorade before dinner - and I knew this wasn't good. I was lightheaded and I kept feeling faint. We decided to buy some Boost to help me get calories in, so now, I try and drink those and have meal bars to be sure I'm getting enough calories to keep my milk supply up. The supply is fine but I don't want to risk losing it. I totally feel like an old person drinking them... it's pretty hilarious. 

Other than those small issues, everything has been great. She's a great sleeper, and Derek and I get plenty of sleep - it's just broken up into stretches of two to three hours. Her fussy period is typically in the evening, and the only way to comfort her is to let her nurse and lay on my chest until she falls asleep. 

Derek is a diaper-changing master - all I need to say is, "I think I smell pee," and he's on top of it. He even took some poop to the shirt at the pediatrician the other day. It was hysterical. Poop was everywhere, and he was a total champ about it! He even gets excited about it. We'll hear a big squirt from her diaper, and he goes, "Oooh! Yeah!" He's also great about swaddling, and he likes to just lay with her while I take a shower or eat. We've been walking every day for about 20 minutes, and I seem to be recovering just fine. My belly is definitely smaller every day, and I can't wait until it's finally gone. I'm down 12 lbs from my last pregnancy weight, so we're making progress. I'm glad we haven't had any major issues, and we're finally getting into a routine. Oh, and we can't realistically use our cloth diapers yet because she's so tiny. They start at 8lbs, so we're doing Pampers Swaddlers for now. Once she's a little bigger, we'll switch over to the gDiapers. 

I absolutely love spending time with her. Everyone made it sound like it would be so exhausting, but honestly, it's no worse than pulling fire guard in the Army. You just wake up, pull your shift, and then go back to sleep. No big deal. She's so sweet, and even when she's angry, it's adorable. If you can't tell, I'm absolutely crazy about her :) We've already given her a nickname - Pig - because she snorts and farts and makes the cutest little squeal-y noises. I love it. :) 

I better get a shower before she wakes up to eat again. She's been sleeping since our walk, and I thought I'd use the time to blog about her.  We took some pictures of her yesterday as she was sunning by the glass doors. You can definitely tell her color is better:

Welcome, Stella Mae Ratcliff!

After the all the griping on the blog post, I guess Stella heard me out!

Before I get into all the fine details, here's a picture of the little princess:

Our sweet girl in her coming home outfit! 

And yes, I think she's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen :) 

So, it all started on Wednesday. I woke up, went to the gym, went to work, and knew I had an appointment at 10:15. Derek and I expected nothing to happen, so we didn't really take anything seriously. Heck, I didn't even log out of my computer at work, and I didn't pack a pair flip flops for Derek in the hospital bag, and I didn't grab our toothbrushes. I figured we'd be home that evening. I had chicken thawing for dinner and everything. 

We arrived at the doctor's office, and in the waiting area, I had a contraction. I looked at Derek, and we were both like, "Eh, it was probably just nothing." I was called back, gave my urine sample, and all of sudden, I had like 3 more contractions while we were in sub-waiting. One of the nurses noticed, and she goes, "Are you okay?" I said, "Yeah, just false labor. No big deal." She walked by again as contraction number three happened, and she goes, "That's it. You're getting hooked up to a machine." They hooked me up to the contraction monitor, and I was having regular contractions, every minute or so. Dr. Helmken came in, and she told me she'd check my cervix. 

When she checked my cervix, I was one centimeter dilated and contracting for real. She said, "Well, today's a good day to have a baby." She had me go to labor and delivery, and Derek and I were still in disbelief. We still hadn't called our jobs or our mothers at this point. We thought, "Eh, nothing may still come of it." 

We got there, and they told me that Dr. Helmken wanted me to start Pitocin (which induces labor) to get things moving. After I got settled into L&D Room 10, Derek and I realized it was actually happening. 

I continued having contractions for about another hour or so, and at about 1, Dr. Helmken showed up. She just walked in, checked my cervix. And, without warning, she broke my water. I was like, "What was that?" She said, "Your water." I was like, "Woah, that felt like I peed myself." The contractions hit harder than ever, and I continued to labor until about 5pm. Here's an action shot:

I was still relatively happy at this point - it's roughly 2pm here.

Derek, looking super excited

At around 5pm, the contractions were horribly painful. I was almost 3cm and 75% effaced. I looked at Derek, sobbing in pain, and I said, "I can't continue doing this." He and I talked, and I decided to get an epidural. I know I said I wouldn't, but you heard it here first, folks, I caved and I was all talk. That shit hurts. 

I got my epidural around 5pm, and I was feeling good again. I had some ice chips to celebrate:

Well, at 7pm, I hadn't progressed at all, and Dr. Helmken turned me over to Dr. Hull, the on call doctor from our office. I started noticing that I was having terrible pain my left side, and I told the nurse. She said, "Hm... let me call anesthesia. That doesn't sound right." Well, apparently, my epidural only took on the right side. They gave me some extra drugs to help with the pain on my left, and that helped a lot. 

Well, around 10, I was dilated at 5cm, and I was having some awful pain on the left side. I asked for more drugs for my left side, and they said my blood pressure was too low. It was around 11pm when Dr. Hull checked me and she said that if I wasn't dilated to at least 8cm by 12:30 am or so, then we may need to do a C-section. 

With all of the pain on my left side, I thought, "Yes! Freedom! The end is in sight!" At this point in the evening, I was crying and contracting like crazy. I thought my pelvis was being ripped out through my left leg. 

At 12:30, the nurse checked me, and I they were amazed that I was definitely at 8cm. I thought, "Crap, there goes my out..." I was completely miserable. 

I kept crying and saying, "Derek, I can't do this anymore..." Derek was amazing, though. He kept soothing me and rubbing my neck. He kept telling me that I was doing a great job. He was simply amazing. 

At about 1:15 or so, the nurse checked me, and I was completely dilated. Dr. Hull came in and said I was ready to start pushing. I thought, "Yes! Here's my end! I can do this!" 

The nurse got me all set up and Derek held my right leg while the nurse held my left. I started pushing with the contractions. It was a relief for the pain since I felt that I was doing something about the pain rather than just sitting there taking it. I was also having some problems with infection. I was running a temperature, so I kept getting plenty of antibiotics through the whole process. 

Well, it was no NEAR end in sight. I pushed and pushed, and Stella wasn't born until 3:58 am. Yes, that's right. I pushed for all of that time, and at about 3, Dr. Hull said, "If you can't get her through your pelvic bone, we're going to do a C-section. Let's try just a little more." I started crying and saying, "I'm exhausted. I can't keep going." She said, "I know, but  it's so much better if you can deliver vaginally." I softly replied, "I know... but this is so hard." 

Well, I kept pushing and pulling on a towel with the nurse to try and force Stella out. Finally, Dr. Hull said, "Alright. Let's at least try a vacuum." She busts out the vacuum, and then finally, she decided to squeeze out. Derek was all teared up, and he said, "There she is!" I couldn't believe it happened. I actually did it. I delivered vaginally. I kept asking if she had hair, and Derek ran over to the warmer with her while Dr. Hull continued working on me. I didn't even care what was happening at this point. I had to have some stitches, but all was well. She was born at 3:58 am, weighing 6lbs and 15 oz. She was 19 inches long. 

Derek took some quick shots:

Here, you can see how my skin was all blotchy from delivery. I didn't look good... at all. We did the skin to skin thing, and Stella latched right away. Breastfeeding was too easy. I couldn't believe it. Everything was perfect - she was eating, she was healthy, and all things considered, I felt much better. 

We stayed in our room, and they finally brought me some food. I was starving and had been dreaming of a cheeseburger. I got a cold turkey sandwich, but I didn't care. It was heavenly. 

We moved to our mother-baby unit around 5am. Derek and I had been up for 24 hours, and we were sooo tired. And remember that I said I didn't pack shoes for Derek... well, he wore mine. He became known in the nursery as the dad with pink flip flops:

Our moms made it, and our awesome friends Kerry and Chris came to visit. We didn't get much sleep since the nurses wouldn't leave me alone. 

Well, that's the birth story. All turned out well. I'm feeling pretty well now. My belly has shrank so much. Derek is amazing. He's a swaddling master, and he's a diaper changing master:

Now, I better get off here - Stella is hungry and her wonderful father is shushing her so I can finish... I'll post more pictures of the little darling later :) 

Appointment Delay

I want to go ahead and give everyone a heads up that my doctor's appointment has been delayed.


They called me today, and apparently, Dr. Helmken has to do an emergency c-section tomorrow morning. My thought: how emergency can it be if she can predict that she'll have to do it? I thought "emergency" c-section meant that it happened during a labor already in progress... oh well. Semantics. Either way, we've been rescheduled for Wednesday at 10:15. 


Yes, I'm a little annoyed by it, but I realize they can't help it. I really wanted to go in tomorrow to see if I've made any progress at all. Oh well. It's just one day.


I thought I'd go ahead and share one last belly shot. At least, I hope this is the last one. I hope the next pictures you see of me are in a hospital gown and I'm holding our daughter.


Here you go:

Yes, I'm very large. 

I'm very uncomfortable, and my belly button here makes my belly look all pointy since it's sticking out. I'm very tired of being pregnant. The "fun" has worn off, and I'm just ready for Stella to arrive. My back and hips hurt, and I'm almost always uncomfortable in any position. 

I've been walking a lot, and I try and take the stairs at every opportunity. I keep saying, "Come out!" I don't think she's listening... 

On a positive note, I've been having contractions again. I hadn't really had any there for about a week and a half. 

On Saturday, we had our friends Kerry and Chris over and we were playing that amazing Michael Jackson Wii game - soo fun! - and I was hoping to get Stella moving with dancing around. Well, that night, I woke up to repeated contractions. I had 3 in a row, all seven minutes apart. I was excited, and then it all fizzled out into nothing. Since then, I've been having random contractions. On the way home, I had four contractions, about 10 minutes or so apart, and nothing came of it. Not yet anyway, but I don't expect anything to happen.

Now, I'm just cramping and feeling a lot of pressure. I really hope she'll make her appearance in the next couple days, at least this week. I'm tired of being kicked like crazy, and I'm tired of feeling like a walrus and being sweaty like a pig all day. I guess she'll come when she comes. 

We'll update everyone on the doctor's appointment on Wednesday, and I sincerely hope we don't make it to then. Although, I'm guessing we will. I'm already starting to just get bummed and expect for this to go on forever... and lead to an induction well after my due date. 

Sleep?

Here it is, 3:30 am, and I'm not asleep.


Lately, I've been having the hardest time actually sleeping through the night. For a long time, I thought that I was actually getting an abnormal amount of sleep to be as pregnant as I was, but now, I'm definitely not sleeping that well. I am typically awake from 2:30 or so until about 4:30 every night. 


If I don't wake up due to hip pain, I'm awake because I'm going to the bathroom over and over or I've had a terrible nightmare. Tonight, I had a terrible nightmare. In hindsight, it was so stupid - sharks were eating my feet - but still scary at the time. I was really tired when we went to bed, so I thought maybe tonight would be a good sleep night. Nope. There are also those nights - like last night - where Stella just beats the shit out of me all night. I think this child will be a soccer player... or will break one of my ribs before this all said and done.


In some ways, I wonder if this is how you get prepared for the bizarre schedule newborns create or maybe it's because my body is too amped up about having a baby to actually settle down. Either way, I'm very tired, and I'd love to get back to sleeping normally.


Sleep throughout this pregnancy has been difficult. I'm generally a decent sleeper - I have my sleepless nights here and there but who doesn't? - and I love to sleep on my stomach. I started training myself to sleep on my side from the moment I found I was pregnant, thinking I needed to be groomed into a side sleeper. 


I will never be a side sleeper. 


I hate sleeping on my side. Mostly, my ears go to sleep - pesky surgeries - and it does make my hips hurt. I'll do what I have to for now, but I don't like it. Yes, I'm very salty about it.


Some other symptoms I've been having lately include: terrible swelling in my legs, feet, and hands; nausea; moodiness (although, you try being this damned huge and tell me if you're not moody); joint pain and sore knuckles and wrists. I've also been noticing that I'm heading to the restroom so much more. I go to the bathroom at work, about to burst from needing to pee, and when I get there, barely anything comes out. I guess it's all the pressure. I've also had more cramping, and everyone I encounter says that she's extremely low. That's judging from the exterior. 


Maybe I'll get it together and take one last belly shot. 


I've been walking A LOT to get things moving. Yesterday, I went for a walk over lunch because I didn't have any grading, and Derek and I have been walking our dogs a lot on the trails by our house. I figure it's good to try and keep myself moving. I know it's supposed to start labor, but I think it also helps me feel better about myself and maybe it cuts down on the amount of late pregnancy fluff that I pick up. 


I'm definitely feeling fluffy lately, too. I guess it's all the water retention. I hear that comes off after delivery... I sure hope so. Oh, and this is pretty funny: I found out at work on Friday that the Registrar's office is taking bets on the day I'll go into labor. Every day that I show up, I pass their office and say, "I'm still here..." 


Anyway, I guess I'm going to go get something to drink and maybe play Animal Crossing. There are some pretty sweet bugs out early in the morning, and you can sell them to Tom Nook - local raccoon peddler - for a sweet amount of bells. Yeah, I'm a dork.


I'll end on this: I'm very excited that we're at this point and that she will be here any time. I'm so ready to finally get this started. This is definitely the biggest and most important thing that has happened in our lives, and without getting all sappy (because you know I hate sappy and emotional), I'm ready to meet the cute, little chubs and start being a mother. I just hope it happens soon so we can get into our routine and get settled at home with her. I'm also very excited to see what she looks like, and I can't wait to see what her personality is going to be like. Either way, we'll keep this updated. 

Dr. Appt Update

Sorry, folks. No progress.


I shouldn't be surprised since this is the first week that dilation would be a good thing. I am a little disappointed that Dr. Helmken pretty much guaranteed me that there will be no having of a baby this week. Let's back up, though.


I may as well start from the beginning.


When we arrived at the doctor's office, we were informed that we had an ultrasound scheduled.  I dropped off my usual urine sample, and we headed for the ultrasound suite. While there, we discovered that Stella has a very large head - like her father - and she's currently weighing about 7lbs 1oz. We also got a 3D shot of the little piglet:

Clearly, she's quite a bit chubbier than she was in our last 3D ultrasound. She's got her father's head. She's currently in the 63rd percentile which is better than the 71st that she was in at 34 weeks. Dr. Helmken said that's much more average. I love her little pudgy chin :)

No dilation. I haven't really been having THAT many contractions. I have a couple daily, but nothing like I had been dealing with. It's so weird. I go from being told that I'll be lucky to make it to term, and now, we see absolutely nothing happening. 

When Dr. Helmken came in the room, she immediately congratulated me on making it to full term, and she praised me for doing such a great job. While that's all well and good, I wanted to at least hear that I'm dilated or something. Nope. Sorry. Not this time. I even said, "So, no baby this week?" and she said, "No, probably not." 

We left the doctor's office, and I sat in the car, crying. I'm so sick of people making comments about my belly, my size, and how absurdly pregnant I am. I'm sick of platitudes from people, stupid shit like, "Oh, she'll change your life. You'll just fall in love." Really, dumbass? You think I didn't think of that? Piss off. I'm sick of people staring at me if I go anywhere. I feel like I make people nervous, like I'm about to drop a baby on their shoes. 

I was walking last week during my lunch, and a woman in a car yelled out at me and said, "Hey, how many months are you?" WTF? Leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you about how huge I am. Why does the lady at the grocery store need to know the name of my baby? She doesn't. I told Derek on Sunday as we were leaving Publix that I'm going to start telling people she's a boy and I'm naming her Ralphie after A Christmas Story, just for spite.

I guess some of my eagerness comes from the sheer prospect of not even making it to term. Like, I went from, "Holy crap, you almost went into labor too soon," to "Nothing is happening." It's kinda like a hurry up and wait sort of mindset, like the Army. 

Anyway, I didn't mean to get off on a tangent. I'm just at my wits' end, and I'm ready for her to get here. I want her to come on her terms, but hear me out, Stella - your mother can't take any more ridicule, advice, or any other bullshit that comes her way. What's most important is that our little chubs is healthy, and we're both really excited for her to get here. She's coming soon, but maybe not as soon as my sanity requires. 

Well, we'll keep this updated. 

We did it!

I'm going to keep this posting short and simple since I'm sure I'll have a lot to say tomorrow after my appointment.


Yay! We did it! Stella is officially full-term and no longer in danger of being a labeled a premature baby. I was so worried we wouldn't make it to this point and I kept having these awful fears of the nurses and doctors rushing her off to the NICU. Now, she can come whenever she wants :) 


I know I had been joking with everyone saying I want her to come ASAP, and I do. I honestly do, but it's all for selfish reasons. I mostly want to see what she looks like and finally get this party started. I'm also pretty damn uncomfortable these days. My hands are swollen and useless, and my hips hurt constantly. I have random contractions and a ton of back pain. 


I know it's better for her to stay in until she's ready, so I'm willing to wait for her to come on her terms. Don't worry: I won't do anything stupid like go running or drink Castor Oil. :) I'll just be here, eagerly awaiting the big cues so we can get to the hospital. 


Anyway, yay for 37 weeks! 3 weeks ago, I was really worried that with the way Dr. Helmken was talking, we wouldn't make it here, so I'll just congratulate myself on taking excellent care of Stella and me and keeping her comfy! I'll celebrate with some oreo pie dessert that's waiting on me in our fridge. 


I'll post more tomorrow after my appointment. :D Oh, and that watermelon thing -- I believe it. She's SO heavy! 

What a f^%&*ng day...

Where in the hell do I begin...


Well, Derek and I were planning to leave for my doctor's appointment at 245 today. I went to get the car at 230, and I was in front of York Hall, waiting on Derek. It was around 250, and I decided to go in and see what the hold up was. Derek was rushing down the hall - he had been extremely busy all day - and we rushed out to the car. Finally - we're leaving!


Right.


I hurriedly back up and WACK! I backed into a student's car. Luckily, no one was hurt and it was all cosmetic damage. Our car took very little damage, just a few scratches. The student's car just had a small dent or two. Regardless, I was definitely going to be late for my appointment, and I called and let them know what happened. 


I, of course, was crying and spending the entire time calling myself a dumbass while the cop wrote up the report. Since it was on SCAD property, I didn't receive a citation - thank, God. I was so worked up that I was sobbing on the way to the doctor while Derek drove. 


We got there and waited a while, obviously. 


Finally, we were taken back at 430, and Beverly checked me. I'm measuring perfectly - right at 36 weeks. I haven't gained any weight, so still at +32 lbs. No dilation. Stella is very low, so she's in the shoot, ready to go. Beverly also wants to consult with Dr. Helmken about possibly doing another ultrasound next time because Stella was measuring rather large for her dates. She's in the 71st percentile for weight, so Beverly was a little worried she's going to be a mega-baby that may not come out by traditional means. She said the only way to know is to do another ultrasound. 


Either way, all's well that ends well... sort of ends well, anyway. Our bumper is still effed, but I'm doing well and so is Stella. Derek may be a little worse for the wear since I've been very emotional and repeatedly apologizing all evening for being such a damned moron.


After the appointment, we decided we needed to be waited on. We grabbed some quick dinner at a nearby Chili's, and Derek drank two much needed beers. We even joked about stopping at a liquor store because of the absurdity of the entire day - we didn't, though.


I'll update again soon. Hopefully, we can repair our bumper and the damage to the poor chap's car won't be too expensive. All I can say is: FML. 


heh.

Work Baby Shower and Our Baptism Class

I'll start off with my work baby shower:


Wow! I have some awesome coworkers! Our work baby shower was on Friday, and we really received some amazing stuff. I got some of the cutest clothes ever - mostly things I had been considering buying anyway! They know my style perfectly :) I got this adorable dress from Megan, and it's orange and pink with a big orange bow - so cute! She also gave us some more adorable every day outfits, too.  Liza bought a dress for Stella from Gap that I had been oogling for weeks - it's pink with layers of silky material and it's all puffy - so stinking cute! I got a Boppy from Julia (and Jennifer, but I'm returning one), and my amazing friends Kerry, Ally, and Amy bought us our diaper sprayer, another cloth diaper, some wipes, and some diaper cream. Cheryl bought us our adorable pink bath tub, and we got some awesome toys from Lena, Alexis, and Ann. We got some awesome books - I love working with educators! - a Bible for Stella, and some super cute stuffed animals. Jennifer also got us some cute sleepers along with the Boppy, so we have plenty of clothes now! 


Christine gave us an adorable blanket with Stella's name embroidered on it, and it matches her room SO perfectly. It's a soft pink color with brown stripes - I love it! Derek's co-worker Henry and his wife bought us some adorable sleepers that have the cutest feet on them! Ann provided the cake which was SO delicious. I love Publix cake! Cheryl made some awesome decorations, and I hope I can steal some pictures from Kerry so I can share how stinking cute they made everything :D Oh, and I can't forget my delicious lunch from J. Christopher's - even though the waitress was an idiot. :) 


Here's the big ticket item from the shower - Derek's office teamed up and bought us a glider and ottoman! I was so freaking stoked! Here are some pictures from after Derek put it together Friday night:

Thankfully, it was easy for Derek to put together. It's SUPER comfy, and Derek keeps catching me sitting in it...

Derek came in the nursery yesterday and caught me half asleep while he was trying to get some other chores finished up. And that's the Boppy that Julia got for us! I love the cover we picked out for it - it matches the nursery perfectly! And Marsha, my coworker, wasn't kidding when she said you can use them for yourself :D 

Now yesterday, he was installing the diaper sprayer on our guest bath toilet - it's closest to the nursery - and we had a bit of a hiccup. He was getting sprayed by water coming out of the pipeline, and we have to go to Home Depot today to get some supplies for him to fix it. We really needed this particular item since it's how you keep the funk out of your washer -- if you get my drift. It'll be so worth the work... I say this as I'm not the one installing it. 

We really received some great stuff, and we're so thankful for everything! It was all perfect! :D

On to the Baptism class....

Derek and I were both sort of moaning and groaning about going to this in the first place, but it ended up being a really good class. The leader was named Jack Rabbit - that was his for real name - and he was a total chill bro. He and his wife led it, and it was pretty much us along with other Catholic couples just sitting in a circle and hearing advice from the Rabbits on how to raise our children Catholic. It was supposed to last for two hours, but ended up only being one. We also got all of the paperwork we need to get the Baptism set up, so it was good. I ended up really enjoying it. 

Anyway, I've been feeling strangely good the past couple days, and I attribute it to the rest. Work has been really chill for me, and I haven't been walking back and forth a lot. I do think toward the end of next week, I'll start walking to work again since I'll be 37 weeks. Regardless, I feel pretty well! 

Lately, my hands have been killing me. It's so hard to do anything with my sore fingers. I also have a hard time moving around in bed, and I have to roll from side to side in stages. I've been sleeping pretty well, aside from waking up every couple hours to flip. I'm insanely hot all the time, and I am still a little crampy. I think it's just that we're gearing up down there for the big day. From the way I feel, I don't suspect it will be any time soon. I'm glad of that because Dr. Helmken is out all week, and I'd like to try and make it to Monday when I'm 37 weeks so we don't have a "premie" on our hands, too. The last thing I want is for Stella to be swept off to the NICU, so she can just stay in there this week :)

Overall, things are good! We have everything we need now, and Derek installed our car seat - finally! Our bags are packed, too, so we're ready to go if we need to be. I have an appointment with the nurse practitioner tomorrow since Dr. Helmken is out, and I'll post more updates from that.